Custom Search


Laundry Washing Temperature:
Hot, Warm or Cold?

SecurityChoice.com Best Safety Site of the Year Badge

Laundry Washing Temperature: Hot, Warm or Cold?

Choosing the right washing temperatures is important to keep clothes you're from fading (hot water) or not getting clean enough (cold water.)

Because the washing temperatures directly affect how well your detergent performs and whether clothes fade or shrink, the right wash cycle temperature is important.

Here's how hot, warm and cold wash water temperatures affect how clean your clothes get, and whether they shrink or fade.


1. Hot, hot, hot.

Hot water is best for sturdy fabrics such as jeans and children's play clothes with ground-in or hard-to-remove dirt and stains.

The biggest "risk" in choosing hot for your washing temperature is a color or "dye" transfer between items of different colors being washed together.

Choose hot water for seriously soiled sturdy fabrics (jeans, cotton blends, synthetics and most whites) and to regularly disinfect dish towels, washcloths, bath towels, bedding and pillowcases, regardless of color.

For best results, keep the whites separate from from dark blues and bright greens.

2. Warm.

Warm water minimizes color fading and wrinkling, and does a good job on seriously soiled clothes.

Choose it for washing grungy synthetic fibers, natural and synthetic blends, and many moderately dirty clothes that are either delicate (think silks or satins) or 100 pure fibers, like cotton.

3. Cold.

Often know as the "safety" when it comes to choosing the laundry wash water temperature. Many people choose "cold" when they're simply unsure of what temperature wash water the clothes should be washed in.

Cold will protect most dark or bright colored-clothing from running and fading, and helps minimize shrinkage of washable cottons and woolens.

It's best, however, for lightly soiled clothes, clothes with blood, wine, or coffee stains (stains that could set if washed in warm or hot water).

While choosing the "safety" is often the best route, when it comes to your clothes, you should compensate by adding a bit more detergent. This is because detergents are activated by warmer temperatures.

So if you're going the cold route, you'll need to bridge the gap by adding more detergent than usual to get these clothes clean.

If you choose a cold wash cycle for really grungy clothes, be sure to increase the amount of detergent you use. You'll need more detergent to get these items clean when washing them in cool water.

If you do lots of cold-water washes, consider using a detergent designed to work in all temperatures.

4. The rinse cycle temperature.

Be Cool. When it comes to the rinse cycle, cold water is the smart, easy choice.

Cold water saves energy (and money) and is fine for all types of loads.


More Stories


Towels: Easy Care Tips to Make Them Last

10 Steps to Cleaner Clothes

Detergent: Liquid vs. Powders

How to Safely Wash a Sweater

How to Machine Wash Sweaters

Leather Clothing Care Tips

Return to Laundry Page

Return to Home Page


New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.


About the Author

Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.